Fans threaten to boycott the Thai team to support coach Masatada Ishii

(Dan Tri) - According to Thairath newspaper, Thai fans are taking actions to express their anger towards the national team after coach Masatada Ishii was suddenly fired.

On October 21, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) made a shocking decision when it officially fired coach Masatada Ishii. The agency said that the reason for the decision to fire coach Ishii was because "his working direction and team development strategy were no longer suitable."

FAT shocked everyone when it announced the dismissal of coach Masatada Ishii (Photo: Getty).

This decision was made even though the Japanese coach has brought many positive and remarkable changes to the "War Elephants" during his time in office, in addition to an impressive performance when he won Taiwan (China) 6-1 in the 4th round of Group D of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

The Japanese coach also helped the Thai team achieve a 53% win rate (second highest in history) and climb to 96th place in FIFA - the team's highest ranking in the past 17 years.

In response to the FAT’s shocking move, Thai football fans have expressed their outrage and called for a boycott of the national team. The first reaction was to call on fans not to attend the friendly match between Thailand and Singapore at Rajamangala Stadium on November 13.

FAT’s Facebook posts also received a wave of negative reactions. Specifically, the live video of the press conference introducing new coach Anthony Hudson received 1,700 angry emojis out of 3,000 reactions, showing the deep dissatisfaction of the fans.

A fan even went directly to the FAT headquarters, holding up a banner to express his dissatisfaction. This fan clearly stated his opinion: "Coach Ishii has a 53% winning rate, helping the team to advance to the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup. Why did FAT decide to fire him at such an important time?"

Thai fans went to the headquarters of the Football Association of Thailand to protest (Photo: Thairath).

Not only fans, experts and many famous Thai football players have also publicly sided with coach Masatada Ishii. They unanimously criticized FAT and President Madam Pang personally for the decision to suddenly fire coach Ishii, causing instability and confusion in public opinion.

Faced with the unstable situation of Thai football, Coach Ishii called on fans to remain calm to support their team: “Since the day FAT announced the termination of my contract and the coaching staff, I believe many people have been shocked and sad.

We have only one biggest goal, which is to bring the Thai team to the 2030 World Cup. That is not only our dream, but also the dream of all Thai football fans.

That is why we need to change our attitude (not boycott the team) when Thailand faces Sri Lanka and welcomes Turkmenistan at home. The friendly match against Singapore on November 13 is also important.

With every cheer from the fans, the players will take one or two steps forward. I myself also find strong encouragement from that. This is the time for Thai football to unite and move forward," coach Ishii spoke for the first time after being fired.

Thai fans expressed outrage at FAT's decision to fire coach Masatada Ishii (Photo: Getty).

The Thai team's closest goal is to win a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup. Currently, the "War Elephants" are second in Group D of the final qualifying round with 9 points, equal in points with Turkmenistan but ranked behind due to a lower head-to-head difference.

Thailand has two important matches left, a visit to Sri Lanka on November 18 and a decisive match against Turkmenistan on March 31, 2026.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/co-dong-vien-doa-tay-chay-tuyen-thai-lan-de-ung-ho-hlv-masatada-ishii-20251026094258525.htm